Page 92 of Fight

“You’re my best friend.” He squeezes my hand and sweeps the back of his fingers across my cheek. “I want some time to sit with this, and process everything. I don’t know how I’m going to explain it to Callahan.”

“You’re worth the wait. If he cares for you, he’ll wait a year… This isn't goodbye.”

Emotion swells in my throat, forming a lump too big to swallow.Then why does it feel like it?

Freeing my hand, we stand, and I hug him. He rests his head on top of mine. I breathe him in, squeezing tight around his midsection. After realizing my feelings for Callahan, the difference between the two men I love is like night and day. Jonathan showed me what love is, but Callahan let me experience it.

He stuffs his hands in his pockets and gives a half-hearted laugh. “Yeah… I’ll be in touch.”

“It’s good to see you again.” We hug one more time, and he leaves.

Closing the door behind him, I wrap my arms around my stomach, then collapse into my half-deflated bed. Crumpled in a ball, I release one gut-wrenching sob after another.

I don’t want to say goodbye.

I wake up just as the sun is setting. I fell asleep crying. Lying motionless, my body has sunk so far into the deflated mattress that I’m grazing the floor. My stomach growls. I roll over, and it’s as if all my muscles have tightened up.

“Oh God,” I groan. I’m starting to feel that hike down the mountain.

Disconnecting my phone from the charger, I spy a text message notification. Thankfully, my phone didn’t break, it just lost charge; the cold temperature probably drained the battery.

I flip open the phone. It’s from Cal.

I read the text. Then I read it again. And again.

I never thought I’d experience a love like this. The kind that swarms my stomach with butterflies and excitement. The kind from my romance books. The kind where I spend four days trapped at the top of a mountain with someone and miss them after less than twenty-four hours of being apart. The kind where leaving him feels like losing a part of myself.

Hi.

My phone dings almost immediately after sending the text.

Callahan

Hey.

How was brushing your teeth?

Callahan

Better than I could have imagined. How was your shower?

Sufficient-ish? Have you eaten?

Callahan

I could eat again.

We need to talk. I want to see him. Hug him. Apologize and sob all over again.

Do you want to meet up at that burger place nearby?

Callahan

Yes. Will there be anyone else joining us? It’s okay if there is.

It’s his way of asking if Jonathan is still here, and I appreciate his understanding.

Just me.